Bagpipes and Blood
by x012587Genin
Summary: Arthur  England  goes to visit his little brother and lover, Alfred  America . The night starts out lovely, until a phone call, cuts the night short and Arthur is forced to go home early.
1. Chapter 1

The sound of the bagpipes rang across the Isle of green and rain…

A child England knew this meant one thing… His big brother Scott was home from battle.

Jumping into his red haired brother's arms, England had a huge smile across his face.

"Scotty-onii!" he squeaked, as Scott held his baby brother up in the air, smiling up at the small blonde, one green eye gleaming, the other, wrapped behind dirty, bloody bandages.

Scott was alive, and that's all that mattered to Arthur.

~…~

A few hundred years later

Arthur fixed his tie and checked his spiky blonde hair one last time before walking out the front with flowers in hand. He was going to see his little brother, Alfred. Life was good, Arthur was happy, the countries were at peace, and he was going to visit his Alfred. Walking out the front door, the heels of his new dress shoes clicking on the pavement of the road, Arthur would be there in no time.

Alfred meanwhile was also getting ready… Meaning: brushing his teeth, getting dressed in a button down, and tie, fixing his hair, and cleaning his glasses. Alfred knew he had to look nice, his Arthur was coming, and he didn't want to be out-done by him.

Waiting anxiously to hear the doorbell ring, he started to boil some water for dinner, and unconsciously tidy things up in the kitchen…

-Ding~Dong-

The long awaited doorbell.

Dashing to the door, Alfred yanked it open, smiling from ear to ear as he pulled his older brother against him, hugging him tightly.

"I missed you so much Iggy" Alfred murmured into the other's shoulder.

"I missed you too Al" Arthur said softly, rubbing up and down his brother's back.

"Come in, come in" Alfred said excitedly as Arthur handed him the flowers, walking in the door.

The two brothers sat and talked for quite some time after dinner, catching up, discussing family matters, and most of all, sharing sweet kisses.

Arthur cupped his "brother's" face lightly, staring deep into his blue eyes, smiling before leaning in to kiss him lightly. This was perfect. Dinner was delicious, and the two lovers were finally together after being apart a while.

The two sat in silence, foreheads pressed together, ties loosened and sharing sweet kisses every now and then…

~…~

The silence was broken after what felt like hours as Alfred's phone rang. The little brother sighed before kissing Arthur's forehead and getting up to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

…

"Yes"

…

"Yes, he's here still"

…

"Okay"

"Iggy, phone's for you!" Alfred said from the other room.

Arthur sighed and walked into the kitchen, taking the phone from Alfred.

"Hello?"

"Hey brat, aren't you out awful late?"

"No, what's it to you?" Arthur said into the telephone.

"Look, I need you home. NOW"

"Tch…"

-click-

~…~

Arthur hung up the phone, sighing lightly.

"I'm sorry to cut this short Al… I'm needed at home."

"Okay Iggy" Alfred mumbled, reaching out, embracing him tightly.

"I'll be back tomorrow" Arthur said softly, hugging his lover tightly.

With that… Arthur walked out the door, into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

Dreading the long walk home, Arthur waved goodbye and smiled back at Alfred as he shut the door. Sighing as he walked quietly, down the long roads, England knew what he was in for.

Lately, Scott had been piling up the work, loading him down with odd jobs, and things to do, mostly trying to keep his little blonde brother in the house and away from Arthur.

Scott's motto was "Family First" some could say.

~…~

Growing up with no parents, only three younger brothers, Scott had to be a man, be tough, and take care of his precious family. Since Ireland and Wales grew up, Scott was left with the youngest. England. From the start, they were attached at the hip /literally/ spending every moment together, the two were more than just brothers, they were best friends. This was so, until England became a rebellious teenager, going through his years delving into illegal trades and piracy.

When England finally separated from his older brother into their respective kingdoms, the two drifted naturally. They had less in common, and they each had their own problems to deal with. Scott felt less stress, not having to care for his little brother, and Arthur was getting the stress piled on. He never knew how much his brother had to deal with… until now. Being king of a country, let alone an Island country had its benefits, as well as its hardships.

~…~

Finally reaching home, all hot and bothered, Arthur opened the door, to find his "favourite" ginger brother leaning against the wall, smoking of course.

"_How_ many times have I told you to NOT smoke in my house?" Arthur sneered, sending his brother a nasty glare.

"Two more puffs, and this one's done" Scott laughed back, pointing to the empty carton, and butts on the coffee table, cigarette burns deep in the wood.

Arthur scowled, brushing past his brother, into his study, sitting at the desk as heavy footsteps followed. Leaning on one hand, holding out the other expecting a stack of papers… only to have a warm gloved hand placed in his. Eyes snapped open at the sudden feeling, and Arthur raised his head slowly.

~…~

What happened in the next few seconds, felt like an eternity. Within a moment, Scott pulled the blonde to his feet, grabbed his tie with a free hand, and pulled him into a deep kiss. Arthur's first instinct to push away kicked in and he struggled, clawing at his brother's back until Scott pulled his little brother's black tie tighter, nearly choking him. After that, there was just lifelessness; simply responding to his older brother's movements, only to save the skin on his neck. After a few more seconds, Scott let go smiling as he pushed Arthur back into his chair.

Without another word, Scott left… leaving Arthur to stare off into space, bewildered by what happened.


	3. Chapter 3

The front door was closed with a loud slam as Scott finally was out of the house.

Arthur sat in the plush office chair, staring deep into space, not even blinking as he relived those

last few moments over and over. Unconsciously, his fingers touched his lips, trailing across them before letting his hand fall back into his lap, as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

Blinking a few times, Arthur snapped back into reality and wiped the tear away.

Looking for some papers in the drawer, Arthur stopped and pulled out a small photo... He smiled a little. It was a very old photo of a late teenage Scott, holding his blonde baby brother in his arms, looking down at him with loving, kind and soft green eyes. Shutting the drawer softly, he placed it on the blotter on the desk top, getting up and picking up the phone.

~…~

Arthur dialed the all too familiar number for Scott's house. Three rings and finally he picked up…

"_Hello?"_

"Hey Scott, it's me" Arthur replied.

"_Oh… hey, what's up little bro?"_

"First off, what's your problem git…"

"_Oh… that. /laughter/ sorry about that. You looked sad"_

"Well, I'm perfectly fine, and completely capable of handling my emotions. I may still be you're little brother, but I /am/ an adult now thank you."

"_All righty then. Oh, do want to join me for tea later?"_

"Fine… See you later Scotty"

-click-

~…~

Arthur sighed, running his fingers through his untidy blonde hair, and slumped down into the bath, letting the water wash over his face. Sitting up to reach the shampoo, Arthur felt a knot form in his stomach… Why did he agree to have tea with Scott?

Oh… right. "Family bonding" or some other nonsense along those lines.

Scrubbing his scalp, and skin, Arthur felt some ease from the hot water. Not too much though… He was still thinking about Scott, and also Alfred. He did after all tell Al that he wasn't going to be gone too long.

After another hour, clean and clean shaven and teeth brushed, Arthur stood in front of the mirror, fluffy towel around his waist, another in his hands, toweling his hair dry.

Stepping out of the bathroom, towels around his waist and neck, Arthur scanned his closet for something half decent to wear. Finding a plain white button down, green sweater and a pair of tan pants that were nicely pressed, he dug down in one of his dresser drawers for a pair of boxers and socks.

A few minutes later, Arthur was all dressed nicely, fiddling with his tie in the mirror, he smiled when it finally was perfect and flipped his collar back down. Sitting on the edge of the bed to tie nicely polished shoes, he stood in front of the vanity dresser once more as a once more. Pleased with the way he looked, he walked downstairs, grabbing his keys and wallet off the table and started the fifteen minute walk to his brother's house.

~…~

Stopping for a moment, to pick a rose from a bush on the way, Arthur smelled the blood red flower and smiled. Off in a pleasant daze, Arthur hardly noticed the time passing until he stopped at the old metal gate of his brother's large home. With a loud familiar squeak, he opened and closed the gate behind him, and walked up the long path to the house.


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur knocked quietly on his brother's front door… He figured if no one answered after a minute or two, he could leave and make his way back to Alfred's house to finish what they started. Smelling the red rose once more, eyes closing at the strong scent filled his nose and brain, Arthur didn't notice Scott at the door until the rose was being taken out of his hand, Scott having accepted it as a gift.

"Ye didn't have to do that Iggy" Scott cooed over the small gesture.

Arthur scowled; a small red blush deep on his cheeks as he pushed past his brother and into the obscenely large house.

Scott shut and locked the door behind him and followed his younger brother into the house, taking his place at the large plush chair, while Arthur sat in the stiffer couch. He claimed it was 'better for his posture' when really, he only sat there because it was across the room from his brother's chair, with a rather large and lavish wooden coffee table between them.

When a calming and familiar whistle was heard, Scott got up from his chair, only to bring back a large tray decorated with a teapot, tea leaves, cream, sugar and a few lemon wedges. They each served themselves tea in an awkward silence and settled into their respective seats. Arthur sat and sipped his tea, blowing on it occasionally to cool it down, unaware of his older brother watching him cautiously.

Scott sipped his tea after a few more moments, and cleared his throat.

"You didn't have to come you know" Scott said not making eye contact with his younger sibling.

"You were the one who invited me… and frankly, I need to sort things out with you Scott" Arthur replied after another sip of tea.

"Aye… I did invite you. I'm surprised you really did show though"

"It's quite rude to accept an invitation, and then either cancel, or never show without prior notice"

Scott rolled his eyes. England had always been one for formalities as an adult. Scott wished he would loosen up a bit. The ginger dug a cigarette and a lighter out of his shirt pocket and lit up, inhaling deeply at the calming nicotine.

"Do you mind Scott?" England half coughed as the smoke started to float towards him.

Scotland smirked…

"Say your peace and then maybe you can get the stick out of your arse" Scott replied exhaling the smoke after a long drag.

Arthur sighed and rubbed his temples… Where to start was the question. While they've known each other since his birth, Arthur never really could figure out his eldest brother. There was always so much hidden beneath those amazing green eyes that no one ever could touch. No one knew what went through the Scot's head. Maybe this time, the younger blonde could start to crack that hard wall open, if he pressed the right buttons… However, if he pressed the wrong ones, there would be a very good chance he would have to take a trip to the hospital.

"Why Scott… why do you toy with me?" Arthur said very quietly, barely audible. "Why did you kiss me, when you know I'm with Alfred?"

Scott pondered a moment… Not because he really had to think, it was as lucid as day to him, he loved Arthur… No, what made him ponder was the fact that Arthur said 'with Alfred'. Not dating Alfred, not fucking Alfred, not in love with Alfred… just with.

He took one last, long drag from the cigarette, and put it out on the ashtray on the small end table next to him. Crossing his legs, and folding his hands in his lap, Scott sighed as well.

"I did it, because I thought you looked sad… Same as before" Scott lied.

Arthur look frustrated. He knew his brother wasn't telling him the whole story, there was clearly more to it that he 'just looked sad'. However, Scott would never tell him, on pain of death his feelings, until he knew that they could be returned.

"Scott… please, don't do this… I want a straight answer" Arthur all but begged.


End file.
